PM to deliver message of qualified optimism but expected announcement on benefit fraud concerns left of partyIn his Telegraph article this morning Prof Sir John Curtice, the leading psephologist, says Keir Starmer has not been very good at setting out “a clear vision of the kind of country he wants to create”. (See 8.46am.) In an interview with the Today programme this morning, Alastair Campbell, who used to be in charge of communications for Tony Blair and who now co-hosts the very popular Rest is Politcs podcast, said much the same.Campbell argued that the government got off to good start, but he said the riots “knocked them slightly off course, even though they handled it well”. In the run-up to the conference season, a “gap” emerged in communication, he said. He went on:And I think in this gap there has been maybe just a lack of that strategic communication, where you understand that in government – which is much, much, much harder than opposition – you have to all the time be devising, executing and narrating your strategy, what the government is for, what the government is trying to do, where the government is trying to get to.And when that doesn’t happen, then what tends to happen – particularly with a pretty hostile media which is not averse to double standards in the way it treats Labour viz a viz the Conservatives – that is when you get stuff filled with clothes and Sue Gray’s salary and all the behind-the-scenes stuff.You can’t blame the public for that. That’s a matter of the government being clear in its communication and the narration of that strategy, so the people cannot get any doubt about what they’re trying to do.Speaking at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, the PM will confirm that the new legislation will be brought to Parliament by April. Known as Hillsborough Law, it will give victims of injustice greater power to take on the state, creating a legal duty of candour for public servants such as police officers. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/sep/24/keir-starmer-labour-conference-speech-latest-live-politics-news
Author : Andrew Sparrow
Publish date : 2024-09-24 08:59:47
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